Filter bag clamp

ABSTRACT

The clamp holds the intake passage of a dust bag to the outer periphery of the exhaust passage of an air filter or the like, and consists of an elongated strip of spring metal having a central part which surrounds the aperture of the dust bag and intake, an integrally formed arcuate piece at one end of the strip which terminates in an open loop, and an eye adjacent the other end of the strip in which one arm of a wire lock form is pivotally mounted. When the strip is brought about the filter bag and intake the second arm of the wire lock form is put into the open loop and the wire form is moved to over center position to lock the strip in place.

United States Patent Bush [451 Apr. 4, 1972 [54] FILTER BAG CLAMP [72]Inventor: Elmer Crosby Bush, Corry, Pa.

[73] Assignee: Associated Spring Corporation, Bristol,

Conn.

[22] Filed: June 1, 1970 [21] Appl. No.: 42,275

[52] US. Cl ..24/270 [51] Int. Cl ..B65d 63/00 [58] Field of Search..24/270 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,151,895 lO/l964Ward ..24/270 2,550,034 4/1951 Allen ....24/270 3,141 ,642 7/1964Mayrath ..24/270 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLlCATlONS 633,602 10/1927 France..24/270 189,370 5/1956 Germany ..24/270 Primary Examiner-Bobby R. GayAssistant Examiner-Garry Moore Attorney-Scrivener, Parker, Scrivener andClarke [5 7] ABSTRACT The clamp holds the intake passage of a dust bagto the outer periphery of the exhaust passage of an air filter or thelike, and consists of an elongated strip of spring metal having acentral part which surrounds the aperture of the dust bag and intake,

an integrally formed arcuate piece at one end of the strip whichterminates in an open loop, and an eye adjacent the other end of thestrip in which one arm of a wire lock form is pivotally mounted. Whenthe strip is brought about the filter bag and intake the second arm ofthe wire lock form is put into the open loop and the wire form is movedto over center posi- 7 tion to lock the strip in place.

1 Claim, 4 Drawing Figures PATENTEDAPR 4 m2 ATTORNEYS FILTER BAG CLAMPDESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of theclamp provided by the invention, before being used;

FIG. 2 is a view showing the clamp in position ready to attach a dustbag to the intake of an air filter, before being locked;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the parts shown in FIG. 2, but shows theclamp after being locked, and

FIG. 4 is a side elevational view of a modified form of clamp, alsoaccording to the invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The invention provides a clamping device ofnew and improved construction and operation which is particularly usefulin clamping the aperture of a dust bag about the circular dischargepassage of an air filter. The improved clamp is unitary in constructionand may be easily and cheaply made, and is simple to install and remove.

A preferred form of the clamp is disclosed in FIG. 1 of the drawings andcomprises an elongated strip of spring steel of sufficient length tomore than surround the cylindrical discharge passage of an air filterwith the aperture of a dust bag closely surrounding the passage. Thestrip is of sufficient width to engage the dust bag and dischargepassage over a substantial area and comprises a central part 2, and endpart 4,6, the central part 2 being substantially straight andun-interrupted.

Adjacent its one end 6 the strip is formed into arcuate shape, which maybe substantially semicircular, and at its free end this arcuate part isbent back upon itself toward the main body of the strip to form a loop 8having an open entrance l0.

Adjacent the other end 4 of the strip, at a point substantially removedfrom the free end thereof, there is provided an eyelet 12 the axis ofwhich extends transversely of the strip. The eyelet is provided on thesame side of the strip toward which the arcuate 6 is bent and, in theform of invention disclosed in FIG. 1, the eyelet is formed from aseparate piece of flat spring metal 14 which is welded to the strip. Theremainder of the strip, being the part between the eyelet 12 and thefree end of the strip part 4, is arcuately curved in a direction awayfrom the side of the strip to which the eyelet 12 is attached.

A handle member designated generally by numeral is provided and isformed of bent wire having two parallel arms 22, 24 connected at theirends by parts 26, 28, the latter being extended beyond arm 22 to providea handle part 30. The arm 24, which is the one most removed from thehandle part 30, is pivotally received within the eyelet l2 and thehandle normally hangs loosely therefrom.

The use and operation of the clamping device is illustrated in FIGS. 2and 3, and it will be seen that when it is desired to clamp the aperture40 of a dust bag 42 about the cylindrical exhaust passage 44 of an airfilter the aperture is first put into surrounding relation with thepassage as shown in the drawings. The surface of the strip opposite tothat to which the eyelet is attached is then placed insurface-to-surface relation to the exterior of the dust bag aperture andthe strip is then bent around the dust bag and exhaust aperture and theopen loop 8 at the one end of the strip is hooked over arm 22 of thehandle with the free end part 4 of the strip lying beneath the otherparts of the strip. The handle is then operated to overcenter positionby rotating it about its pivotal connection to eyelet 12, thusreleasably locking the parts in the position shown in FIG. 3.

A second embodiment which the strip may take is disclosed in FIG. 4 andin this embodiment the eyelet 12 is formed from the strip itself ratherthan in a piece welded to the strip.

In any form which the clamping device provided by the invention may takethe distance from the center axis of the eyelet 12 to the adjacentsurface of the strip itself is important as it is this distance whichinsures that the handle member will remain in overcenter lockedposition, as in this locked positron the arm 24 of the handle membermust be farther away from the adjacent surface of the strip than the arm22 of the handle member.

The arcuate part 6 of the clamp provides spring action which absorbs anyvariation in the size of the assembled filter aperture and dust bag,while the curved end part 4 and the location of the eyelet l2 enablesthe manufacturer of the clamp to absorb all manufacturing tolerances bylocation of the eyelet.

I claim:

1. A device for encircling and releasably connecting two concentricannular members in abutting relation, comprising an elongated flat stripof flexible metal, a loop at one end of the strip which has an openentrance at one side of the strip, an eyelet adjacent the other end ofthe strip and on the other side thereof from the loop, the eyelet andthe loop having parallel axes which extend at right angles to the lengthof the strip, a snap-over locking device comprising an open rectangularmember formed of bent wire having parallel end parts connected at theirends by side parts, one of the side parts being extended beyond a firstone of the end parts to form a handle and the other end part beingpivotally received in the eyelet, whereby when the strip is bent withthe eyelet on the outside and the said first one of the end parts of thelocking device is received within the loop the locking device may berotated by the handle about the eyelet to overcenter position toreleasably connect the ends of the strip.

1. A device for encircling and releasably connecting two concentricannular members in abutting relation, comprising an elongated flat stripof flexible metal, a loop at one end of the strip which has an openentrance at one side of the strip, an eyelet adjacent the other end ofthe strip and on the other side thereof from the loop, the eyelet andthe loop having parallel axes which extend at right angles to the lengthof the strip, a snap-over locking device comprising an open rectangularmember formed of bent wire having parallel end parts connected at theirends by side parts, one of the side parts being extended beyond a firstone of the end parts to form a handle and the other end part beingpivotally received in the eyelet, whereby when the strip is bent withthe eyelet on the outside and the said first one of the end parts of thelocking device is received within the loop the locking device may berotated by the handle about the eyelet to overcenter position toreleasably connect the ends of the strip.